Presentation of the Latin American Economic Outlook 2008 in Rome - 13 February 2008

The Latin American Economic Outlook 2008 was presented on 13 February in Rome. The event, hosted by the Istituto Italo-Latino Americano (IILA), gathered distinguished representatives from the Italian public administration, numerous Ambassadors from Latin America and private sector companies currently investing in the region.
José Roberto Andino Salazar, IILA’s President and Salvadorian Ambassador to Italy, and the Secretary of State at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs,

Donato Di Santo, opened the event by underlining their appreciation of this reinforced collaboration between the OECD and Italy. In this context, Secretary Di Santo stressed Italy’s renewed commitment to be an important partner for Latin America.
The presentation of the report by Javier Santiso, Director of the OECD Development Centre, was followed by a roundtable discussion led by journalist Roberto Da Rin, Il Sole 24 Ore’s reporter for Latin America. Discussants included Giorgio Gomel, from Banca d’ Italia, Vincenzo Petrone, from Confindustria, Antonella Mori, from the University of Bocconi’s Institute of Latin American Studies, and Gianfranco Caprioli, representing the Italian Ministry of International Trade. The debate focused on pension reform and fiscal policy, as well as the emergence of Latin American multinational corporations.

Massimo Tononi, Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Economy and Finance offered closing remarks, highlighting the report’s positive outlook of the Latin American economy. He also expressed his optimism for the future of Latin America, stressing the need to reinforce democratic institutions in the region as a precondition for achieving further economic success.
The audience made many positive comments on the report. Standing out among them was a shared appreciation of the positive message for Latin America provided by an international organisation such as the OECD. The Director of the OECD Development Centre, Javier Santiso, stressed the political economy dimensions of a key topic like fiscal reform, which should not be left only in the hands of economists and technicians.